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《银椅子》 第十二章 秘境女王

所属教程:纳尼亚传奇7本全

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2019年02月10日

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CHAPTER TWELVE THE QUEEN OF UNDERLAND

TWO Earthmen entered,but instead of advancing into the room,they placed themselves one on each side of the door,and bowed deeply. They were followed immediately by the last person whom anyone had expected or wished to see:the Lady of the Green Kirtle,the Queen of Underland. She stood dead still in the doorway,and they could see her eyes moving as she took in the whole situation—the three strangers,the silver chair destroyed, and the Prince free,with his sword in his hand.
She turned very white;but Jill thought it was the sort of whiteness that comes over some people’s faces not when they are frightened but when they are angry. For a moment the Witch fixed her eyes on the Prince,and there was murder in them. Then she seemed to change her mind.
“Leave us,”she said to the two Earthmen. “And let none disturb us till I call,on pain of death.”The gnomes padded away obediently,and the Witch-queen shut and locked the door.
“How now,my lord Prince,”she said. “Has your nightly fit not yet come upon you,or is it over so soon ? Why stand you here unbound ? Who are these aliens ? And is it they who have destroyed the chair which was your only safety ?”
Prince Rilian shivered as she spoke to him. And no wonder: it is not easy to throw off in half an hour an enchantment which has made one a slave for ten years. Then,speaking with a great effort,he said:“Madam,there will be no more need of that chair. And you,who have told me a hundred times how deeply you pitied me for the sorceries by which I was bound,will doubtless hear with joy that they are now ended for ever. There was,it seems,some small error in your Ladyship’s way of treating them. These,my true friends,have delivered me. I am now in my right mind,and there are two things I will say to you. First—as for your Ladyship’s design of putting me at the head of an army of Earthmen so that I may break out into the Overworld and there,by main force, make myself king over some nation that never did me wrong— murdering their natural lords and holding their throne as a bloody and foreign tyrant—now that I know myself,I do utterly abhor and renounce it as plain villainy. And second:I am the King’s son of Narnia,Rilian,the only child of Caspian,Tenth of that name, whom some call Caspian the Seafarer. Therefore,Madam,it is my purpose,as it is also my duty,to depart suddenly from your Highness’s court into my own country. Please it you to grant me and my friends safe conduct and a guide through your dark realm.”
Now the Witch said nothing at all,but moved gently across the room,always keeping her face and eyes very steadily towards the Prince. When she had come to a little ark set in the wall not far from the fireplace,she opened it,and took out first a handful of a green powder. This she threw on the fire. It did not blaze much, but a very sweet and drowsy smell came from it. And all through the conversation which followed,that smell grew stronger,and filled the room,and made it harder to think. Secondly,she took out a musical instrument rather like a mandolin. She began to play it with her fingers—a steady,monotonous thrumming that you didn’t notice after a few minutes. But the less you noticed it,the more it got into your brain and your blood. This also made it hard to think. After she had thrummed for a time(and the sweet smell was now strong)she began speaking in a sweet,quiet voice.
“Narnia ?”she said. “Narnia ? I have often heard your Lordship utter that name in your ravings. Dear Prince,you are very sick. There is no land called Narnia.”
“Yes there is,though,Ma’am,”said Puddleglum. “You see,I happen to have lived there all my life.”
“Indeed,”said the Witch. “Tell me,I pray you,where that country is ?”
“Up there,”said Puddleglum,stoutly,pointing overhead. “I— I don’t know exactly where.”
“How ?”said the Queen,with a kind,soft,musical laugh. “Is there a country up among the stones and mortar of the roof ?”
“No,”said Puddleglum,struggling a little to get his breath. “It’s in Overworld.”
“And what,or where,pray is this...how do you call it...Overworld ?”
“Oh,don’t be so silly,”said Scrubb,who was fighting hard against the enchantment of the sweet smell and the thrumming. “As if you didn’t know ! It’s up above,up where you can see the sky and the sun and the stars. Why,you’ve been there yourself. We met you there.”
“I cry you mercy,little brother,”laughed the Witch(you couldn’t have heard a lovelier laugh). “I have no memory of that meeting. But we often meet our friends in strange places when we dream. And unless all dreamed alike,you must not ask them to remember it.”
“Madam,”said the Prince sternly,“I have already told your Grace that I am the King’s son of Narnia.”
“And shalt be,dear friend,”said the Witch in a soothing voice,as if she was humouring a child,“shalt be king of many imagined lands in thy fancies.”
“We’ve been there,too,”snapped Jill. She was very angry because she could feel enchantment getting hold of her every moment. But of course the very fact that she could still feel it, showed that it had not yet fully worked.
“And thou art Queen of Narnia too,I doubt not,pretty one,”said the Witch in the same coaxing,half-mocking tone.
“I’m nothing of the sort,”said Jill,stamping her foot. “We come from another world.”
“Why,this is a prettier game than the other,”said the Witch. “Tell us,little maid,where is this other world ? What ships and chariots go between it and ours ?”
Of course a lot of things darted into Jill’s head at once: Experiment House,Adela Pennyfather,her own home,radio-sets,cinemas,cars,aeroplanes,ration-books,queues. But they seemed dim and far away. (Thrum—thrum—thrum—went the strings of the Witch’s instrument.)Jill couldn’t remember the names of the things in our world. And this time it didn’t come into her head that she was being enchanted,for now the magic was in its full strength;and of course,the more enchanted you get,the more certain you feel that you are not enchanted at all. She found herself saying(and at the moment it was a relief to say):
“No. I suppose that other world must be all a dream.”
“Yes. It is all a dream,”said the Witch,always thrumming.
“Yes,all a dream,”said Jill.
“There never was such a world,”said the Witch.
“No,”said Jill and Scrubb,“never was such a world.”
“There never was any world but mine,”said the Witch.
“There never was any world but yours,”said they.
Puddleglum was still fighting hard. “I don’t know rightly what you all mean by a world,”he said,talking like a man who hasn’t enough air. “But you can play that fiddle till your fingers drop off,and still you won’t make me forget Narnia;and the whole Overworld too. We’ll never see it again,I shouldn’t wonder. You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this,for all I know. Nothing more likely. But I know I was there once. I’ve seen the sky full of stars. I’ve seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I’ve seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn’t look at him for brightness.”
Puddleglum’s words had a very rousing effect. The other three all breathed again and looked at one another like people newly awaked.
“Why,there it is !”cried the Prince. “Of course !The blessing of Aslan upon this honest Marsh-wiggle. We have all been dreaming,these last few minutes. How could we have forgotten it ? Of course we’ve all seen the sun.”
“By Jove,so we have !”said Scrubb. “Good for you, Puddleglum !You’re the only one of us with any sense,I do believe.”
Then came the Witch’s voice,cooing softly like the voice of a wood-pigeon from the high elms in an old garden at three o’clock in the middle of a sleepy,summer afternoon;and it said:
“What is this sun that you all speak of ? Do you mean anything by the word ?”
“Yes,we jolly well do,”said Scrubb.
“Can you tell me what it’s like ?”asked the Witch(thrum, thrum,thrum,went the strings).
“Please it your Grace,”said the Prince,very coldly and politely. “You see that lamp. It is round and yellow and gives light to the whole room;and hangeth moreover from the roof. Now that thing which we call the sun is like the lamp,only far greater and brighter. It giveth light to the whole Overworld and hangeth in the sky.”
“Hangeth from what,my lord ?”asked the Witch;and then,while they were all still thinking how to answer her,she added, with another of her soft,silver laughs:“You see ? When you try to think out clearly what this sun must be,you cannot tell me. You can only tell me it is like the lamp. Your sun is a dream;and there is nothing in that dream that was not copied from the lamp. The lamp is the real thing;the sun is but a tale,a children’s story.”
“Yes,I see now,”said Jill in a heavy,hopeless tone. “It must be so.”And while she said this,it seemed to her to be very good sense.
Slowly and gravely the Witch repeated,“There is no sun.”And they all said nothing. She repeated,in a softer and deeper voice. “There is no sun.”After a pause,and after a struggle in their minds,all four of them said together. “You are right. There is no sun.”It was such a relief to give in and say it.
“There never was a sun,”said the Witch.
“No. There never was a sun,”said the Prince,and the Marsh-wiggle,and the children.
For the last few minutes Jill had been feeling that there was something she must remember at all costs. And now she did. But it was dreadfully hard to say it. She felt as if huge weights were laid on her lips. At last,with an effort that seemed to take all the good out of her,she said:
“There’s Aslan.”
“Aslan ?”said the Witch,quickening ever so slightly the pace of her thrumming. “What a pretty name ! What does it mean ?”
“He is the great Lion who called us out of our own world,”said Scrubb,“and sent us into this to find Prince Rilian.”
“What is a lion ?”asked the Witch.
“Oh,hang it all !”said Scrubb. “Don’t you know ? How can we describe it to her ? Have you ever seen a cat ?”
“Surely,”said the Queen. “I love cats.”
“Well,a lion is a little bit—only a little bit,mind you—like a huge cat—with a mane. At least,it’s not like a horse’s mane, you know,it’s more like a judge’s wig. And it’s yellow. And terrifically strong.”
The Witch shook her head. “I see,”she said,“that we should do no better with your lion,as you call it,than we did with your sun. You have seen lamps,and so you imagined a bigger and better lamp and called it the sun. You’ve seen cats,and now you want a bigger and better cat,and it’s to be called a lion. Well,’tis a pretty make-believe,though,to say truth,it would suit you all better if you were younger. And look how you can put nothing into your make-believe without copying it from the real world,this world of mine,which is the only world. But even you children are too old for such play. As for you,my lord Prince,that art a man full grown,fie upon you ! Are you not ashamed of such toys ? Come,all of you. Put away these childish tricks. I have work for you all in the real world. There is no Narnia,no Overworld,no sky,no sun,no Aslan. And now,to bed all. And let us begin a wiser life tomorrow. But,first,to bed;to sleep;deep sleep, soft pillows,sleep without foolish dreams.”
The Prince and the two children were standing with their heads hung down,their cheeks flushed,their eyes half closed;the strength all gone from them;the enchantment almost complete. But Puddleglum,desperately gathering all his strength,walked over to the fire. Then he did a very brave thing. He knew it wouldn’t hurt him quite as much as it would hurt a human;for his feet(which were bare)were webbed and hard and cold-blooded like a duck’s. But he knew it would hurt him badly enough;and so it did. With his bare foot he stamped on the fire,grinding a large part of it into ashes on the flat hearth. And three things happened at once.
First,the sweet,heavy smell grew very much less. For though the whole fire had not been put out,a good bit of it had, and what remained smelled very largely of burnt Marsh-wiggle, which is not at all an enchanting smell. This instantly made everyone’s brain far clearer. The Prince and the children held up their heads again and opened their eyes.
Secondly,the Witch,in a loud,terrible voice,utterly different from all the sweet tones she had been using up till now, called out,“What are you doing ? Dare to touch my fire again, mud-filth,and I’ll turn the blood to fire inside your veins.”
Thirdly,the pain itself made Puddleglum’s head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.
“One word,Ma’am,”he said,coming back from the fire; limping,because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right,I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said,even so. Suppose we have only dreamed,or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that,in that case,the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well,it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing,when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game,if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So,thanking you kindly for our supper,if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready,we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long,I should think;but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”
“Oh,hurrah ! Good old Puddleglum !”cried Scrubb and Jill. But the Prince shouted suddenly,“Ware ! Look to the Witch.”
When they did look their hair nearly stood on end.
The instrument dropped from her hands. Her arms appeared to be fastened to her sides. Her legs were intertwined with each other,and her feet had disappeared. The long green train of her skirt thickened and grew solid,and seemed to be all one piece with the writhing green pillar of her interlocked legs. And that writhing green pillar was curving and swaying as if it had no joints,or else were all joints. Her head was thrown far back and while her nose grew longer and longer,every other part of her face seemed to disappear,except her eyes. Huge flaming eyes they were now, without brows or lashes. All this takes time to write down;it happened so quickly that there was only just time to see it. Long before there was time to do anything,the change was complete, and the great serpent which the Witch had become,green as poison,thick as Jill’s waist,had flung two or three coils of its loathsome body round the Prince’s legs. Quick as lightning another great loop darted round,intending to pinion his sword-arm to his side. But the Prince was just in time. He raised his arms and got them clear:the living knot closed only round his chest-ready to crack his ribs like firewood when it drew tight.
The Prince caught the creature’s neck in his left hand,trying to squeeze it till it choked. This held its face(if you could call it a face)about five inches from his own. The forked tongue flickered horribly in and out,but could not reach him. With his right hand he drew back his sword for the strongest blow he could give. Meanwhile Scrubb and Puddleglum had drawn their weapons and rushed to his aid. All three blows fell at once:Scrubb’s(which did not even pierce the scales and did no good)on the body of the snake below the Prince’s hand,but the Prince’s own blow and Puddleglum’s both on its neck. Even that did not quite kill it, though it began to loosen its hold on Rilian’s legs and chest. With repeated blows they hacked off its head. The horrible thing went on coiling and moving like a bit of wire long after it had died;and the floor,as you may imagine,was a nasty mess.
The Prince,when he had breath,said,“Gentlemen,I thank you.”Then the three conquerors stood staring at one another and panting,without another word,for a long time. Jill had very wisely sat down and was keeping quiet;she was saying to herself,“I do hope I don’t faint—or blub—or do anything idiotic.”
“My royal mother is avenged,”said Rilian presently. “This is undoubtedly the same worm that I pursued in vain by the fountain in the forest of Narnia,so many years ago. All these years I have been the slave of my mother’s slayer. Yet I am glad,gentlemen, that the foul Witch took to her serpent form at the last. It would not have suited well either with my heart or with my honour to have slain a woman. But look to the lady.”He meant Jill.
“I’m all right,thanks,”said she.
“Damsel,”said the Prince,bowing to her. “You are of a high courage,and therefore,I doubt not,you come of a noble blood in your own world. But come,friends. Here is some wine left. Let us refresh ourselves and each pledge his fellows. After that,to our plans.”
“A jolly good idea,Sir,”said Scrubb.


第十二章 秘境女王

两个侍从进来,站在门口,深深鞠了一躬,紧跟在他们后面的是他们最不想看到的人:绿衣夫人——秘境女王。她站在门口一动不动,只有眼珠子转来转去,思索着目前的情况——三个陌生人,被破坏的银椅,获得自由的王子,手里还拿着剑。
她的脸色发白,在姬尔看来,这不是吓白的,而是气的。女巫盯着王子看了好一会,眼睛里杀气腾腾。然后,她又似乎改变了主意。
“你们下去,”她对随从说。“任何人都不要进来打扰,否则一律处死。”侍从们顺从地离开。女巫把门关上,锁好。
“怎么了,王子殿下,”她说,“每晚你都会发疯,现在怎么了? 还没有发作,还是已经好了?怎么也没绑上就在这儿站着。这些是什么人?他们怎么把唯一能够救你的银椅给毁了呢?”
听到她的话,瑞利安不由自主打了个寒战。也难怪,毕竟在她的魔法中生活了十年之久。因此,他半天才说:
“夫人,那把椅子已经没用了。你不止一次告诉我,你怜悯我遭受魔法禁锢,如果听说魔法已经永远消失了,你肯定会高兴的。看来,夫人并不怎么高兴。是这些真诚的朋友解救了我。趁我现在头脑清醒,我要告诉您两件事。首先,夫人曾经计划让我带着秘境的军队, 破土而出到上面的世界,武力占领一个从来没有侵犯过我的国家, 杀害原有的贵族,当个残忍的暴君霸占他们的王位。我已经清醒了, 我不同意这个邪恶的计划。其次,我是纳尼亚国王的儿子瑞利安,航海家凯斯宾,凯斯宾十世的独子。夫人,我必须立刻离开您的宫殿回到我的国家,履行我的职责。请派一个向导带领我们安全地离开您的王国。”
女巫盯着王子,沉默不语,她轻轻穿过房间,从火炉附近墙上的一个小柜子里拿出一把绿色粉末,洒在火焰里。那粉末不发光,散发出令人昏昏欲睡的香气。这股气味越来越浓,很快弥漫在房间中, 大家的头脑都开始模糊。接着,她又拿出一个类似于曼陀林的乐器, 用手拨动着琴弦——一种单调、没有起伏的声音发出来,开始你可能不太注意,但越是这样,那声音却越要往你耳朵里钻,搅得你无法思考。她弹奏了一小会儿(香味也更浓了),开始用一种甜蜜、沉着的声音讲话。
“纳尼亚?”她说,“纳尼亚?殿下说胡话的时候倒是经常提到那个名字。亲爱的王子,您的病一定是加重了,根本没有纳尼亚这个地方。”
“可是,夫人,有这地方,”普德格勒姆说,“你看,我在那儿住了一辈子了。”
“真的吗?”女巫说,“那么请告诉我,那个国家在哪儿?”
“在上面,”普德格勒姆固执地的了指头顶,“我——我不知道确切的方位。”
“什么?”女王笑了,声音很亲切、很柔和、很动听,“在上面的石头和泥灰中有一个国家?”
“不,”普德格勒姆努力让自己清醒起来,“我是说地上世界。”
“好吧,那个……你所谓的地上世界……在哪儿?”
“好,你别装了,”尤斯塔斯说,他正拼命跟那股香味和音乐斗争, “好像你真的不知道似的!那地方就在上面,能够看得见天空、太阳和星星。你自己也去过,我们还在上面见过你。”
“很抱歉,小兄弟,”女巫笑道(你恐怕从来没有听过比这更悦耳的笑声),“我可不记得见过你们。我们做梦的时候,常常会在稀奇古怪的地方遇到我们的朋友。不过除非所有人做的梦都一样, 你可不能要求人家都记得这个梦。”
“夫人,”王子执着地说,“我已经说过了,我是纳尼亚国王的儿子!”
“将来会是的,亲爱的,”女巫安慰他说,那声音就像在哄小孩, “你总是幻想成为许多地方的国王。”
“我们也去过那儿。”姬尔生气地说。她感觉到魔法正在控制她, 她对此非常不悦。不过从她还能辨别真相来看,魔法并没有完全起作用。
“那你就是纳尼亚的女王咯,小美人儿。”女巫用半哄骗、半嘲讽的口气说道。
“我可没那么说,”姬尔跺着脚说,“我们来自于另一个世界。”
“咦,真是越来越有意思。”女巫说,“告诉我们,小姑娘, 另外一个世界又在哪儿?你怎么来这里的?坐船还是马车?”
姬尔的脑海里涌现了许多东西:实验学校、奥黛拉•潘妮法瑟、她的家、收音机、电影院、汽车、飞机、供货车、排队。不过这些事都很模糊的,好像很遥远(噔……噔……噔,女巫的乐器响个不停), 姬尔快想不起来这些东西的名字了。她没有想到自己会中魔法,看来魔法开始起作用了。这是肯定的,中魔法的人,是根本没有意识的。不知不觉中,她竟然说(还松了一口气):
“不。这一定是个梦。”
“是啊,是个梦。”女巫一边说一边不停弹奏。
“没错,是梦。”姬尔说。
“那个世界根本不存在。”女巫说。
“就是,”姬尔和尤斯塔斯说,“根本不存在。”
“除了我的世界,再没有别的世界。”女巫说。
“除了你的世界,再没有别的世界。”他们齐声说。
只有普德格勒姆还在苦苦挣扎。“另一个世界是什么意思,”他说, 看起来就像快窒息一样,“你尽管弹那把琴,就算弹到手指都掉下来, 还是不能让我忘记纳尼亚和地面世界。哪怕我们将来再也看不见那个世界了,你尽管把这些抹掉,让地上世界变得跟这里一样黑暗。谁知道呢?那也是有可能的。我只知道自己到过那儿,看到漫天星斗。我见过太阳,早上从海上升起,晚上在山那边落下,还有正午那耀眼的太阳,明亮得让人不能直视。”
普德格勒姆的话很有用,三个人重新调整呼吸,彼此对望着, 如梦方醒。
“哦。是的。”王子喊道,“但愿阿斯兰保佑这个忠诚的沼泽怪。这几分钟,我们才是在做梦。我们怎么会忘记,我们都见过太阳。”
“是的,我们都见过,”尤斯塔斯说,“好样的,普德格勒姆! 你是我们当中最有头脑的!”
然后女巫开口了,声音轻柔,就像夏天的下午三点,老花园里高大的榆树上野鸽子的叫声,她说:
“你们所谓的太阳是什么呀?那个词有什么特殊的意思吗?”
“是的,当然!”尤斯塔斯说。
“告诉我什么样好吗?”女巫问(噔……噔……噔,琴声还在继续)。
“是,陛下,”王子彬彬有礼地说,“就像那盏灯,圆的,黄色的, 挂在屋顶上,照亮整个房间。我们所说的太阳,就像这盏灯一样,不过要大得多,也亮得多。它挂在天上,能照亮整个世界。”
“挂在什么地方,殿下?”女巫问。紧跟着,当大家还在想应该怎么回答的时候,她又笑了,声音柔和得如同银铃般,“瞧,你们都想搞清楚这个太阳是个什么东西,可是却又说不清。你们只能告诉我,太阳就像那盏灯。听我说,太阳是个梦,梦里的东西都源于现实, 灯是真的,而太阳不过是个神话故事。”
“啊,我明白了,”姬尔的声音低沉,绝望,“一定是这样。” 她说这话的时候,似乎觉得这还蛮有道理的。
女巫慢慢地重复道:“没有太阳。”声音更加柔和、深沉。他们都一声不吭。“没有太阳。”就这样过了一会,四个人明显挣扎了一番,接着他们齐声说道,“您说得对,没有太阳。”
“从来没有太阳。”女巫说。
“对,从来没有太阳。”王子、沼泽怪和两个孩子说。
这一刻,姬尔总觉得心里有什么事,她拼命地想啊想,突然她想起来了,可是又觉得嘴巴好沉好沉,最终她用尽全力说道:
“有阿斯兰。”
“阿斯兰?”女巫噔噔噔地加快了节奏,说道,“多好听!那是什么意思?”
“他是伟大的狮王,是他把我们从自己的世界召唤过来的。” 尤斯塔斯说,“他派我们来找瑞利安。”
“狮王是什么?”女巫问。
“啊呀,见鬼!”尤斯塔斯说,“你真不知道?我们该怎么来形容狮子呢?你见过猫吗?”
“当然,”女巫说,“我喜欢猫。”
“好吧,狮子有点——听着,有点——像一只大猫,它有鬃毛。不是马鬃,更像法官的假发,黄色的,它非常强壮。”
女巫摇摇头,“我明白了,”她说,“你们说的这个狮子和太阳都是一回事。你们看到灯,就想象出了一个更大更好的,也就是太阳。你们见到猫,就想出来一个更大更好的猫,还给它取名为狮子。好了,这都很有意思。老实说,如果你们还是小孩子,这么做就合情合理了。你看,如果你们并没有从我这个世界里学到什么,所以想象不出来。我的世界是唯一的真实世界。话说回来,你们两个也已经够大了,不适合玩这种游戏。至于你,王子殿下,你已经是个成年人了, 竟然做得出来!知不知道什么叫害臊?过来,把这套孩子气的把戏收起来。回到真实世界中,我还有事儿要你们做。没有纳尼亚,没有地上世界,没有天空,没有太阳,也没有所谓的阿斯兰,现在大家都睡去吧。明天开始,要懂事些。不过现在还是睡觉去吧,枕着软软的枕头, 美美的睡一觉,不要再做任何荒唐可笑的梦。”
王子和两个孩子站在那里,脑袋耷拉着,脸红红的,眼睛半睁着, 浑身瘫软,魔法就要完全控制他们了。不料普德格勒姆拼命地走到火炉旁,干了一件非常勇敢地事。他光着脚去踩火,把炉子里大部分烧着的木柴都踩成了灰。尽管他知道会被火烧伤,但是不会特别严重。因为他的脚上有硬硬的蹼,而他本身又是冷血的。这样一来,立刻就发生了三个改变:
第一,那股香气变淡了。尽管火还没有被完全扑灭,但也已经灭了一大半,加上空中弥散的沼泽怪被烧伤的脚臭味,已经不全是魔法的气味了,每个人顿时清醒了许多。王子和两个孩子抬起头,睁开了眼睛。
第二,女巫一改甜蜜的声调,扯起嗓门,大喊道:“你在干什么? 竟敢动我的火,你这团烂泥巴,我要把你烧死!”
第三,疼痛让普德格勒姆完全清醒了,他清楚地知道自己内心的想法。想要破除魔法,没有什么比剧烈疼痛更加管用的了。
“我说,夫人,”他从火炉边一瘸一拐地走过来,“我说。您刚才说的都对,这完全有可能。我一向喜欢凡事往坏处想,然后再往好处想。你完全可以那么做。就算那样,我还要说。假如我们只是梦见, 或者说想象出来的那些——树木、草地、太阳、月亮、星星甚至阿斯兰。就算那真的只是想象,而你的王国是唯一的世界。那么我想说, 为什么捏造出来的东西要比真实的东西还要重要呢?那么我觉得这个世界实在太可悲了,想来也有趣。如果像你所说,我们在玩这些小孩子的游戏,可是这个游戏居然能把你的真实世界打得落花流水, 因为我只会忠实于这个游戏世界。即便世界上没有阿斯兰,我也要站在他那边;即便没有纳尼亚这个地方,我也要像个真正的纳尼亚人那样生活。所以,感谢您招待我们吃饭,要是这两位先生和小姐都准备好了,我们现在要出发,离开这里寻找理想世界。也许我们的生命很短暂,但如果这个世界跟你说的那样沉闷,我们并没有多大损失。
“哦,好啊!普德格勒姆真是好样的!”尤斯塔斯和姬尔大叫道。王子则突然叫嚷起来:“小心!看女巫!”
大家不寒而栗。


她手里的乐器掉了下来,两只胳膊紧紧贴住身体,两只脚缠在一起然后突然不见了,她的长裙突然变成了一根蠕动的绿柱子。柱子歪歪扭扭左右摇摆,满身是节,没有主心骨。她的头高高地后扬,鼻子变得很长,头上只剩下了火红色的眼睛,眉毛和睫毛都不见了。说时迟那时快,他们什么都没做女巫就变成了一条毒蛇,绿幽幽的像是毒药一样,像姬尔的腰那么粗的躯体在王子的腿上缠了两三圈, 还打算把王子拿着剑的那只手给圈住。幸亏王子举起双臂,她只缠住了胸部——打算像勒木柴一样把王子的肋骨勒断。
王子用左手,抓住蛇颈,拼命地想要把它掐死。蛇的脸(如果还能称其为脸)离他的只有五英寸。蛇精不停地吐着信子,差点就够着王子了。接着,他又举起右手,抽出剑劈下去。普德格勒姆和尤斯塔斯都抽出武器冲上去帮助他,又刺了三下。尤斯塔斯一下子刺在了蛇身上,这一击并不怎么样,蛇鳞都没有刺穿,王子本人和普德格勒姆倒是击中了蛇颈。蛇精虽然还是没死,但是绕在瑞利安腿上和胸脯上的躯体已经松了。他们又刺了好几下,终于把蛇头砍掉。蛇精不停的扭动,你肯定能想象得出来,地板被她搞得多糟。
三个征服者站在那里,面面相觑,喘着粗气,久久没有说话。好大一会儿,王子才缓过劲来说:“谢谢你们!”姬尔则聪明地坐下了, 沉默不语,心想:“我真希望自己别昏过去,也别哭,没出洋相。”
“我母后的仇报了,”瑞利安说,“这条蛇肯定就是多年前我在纳尼亚森林的喷泉边追捕的那条。这么多年,我居然成了仇人的奴隶。不过我很高兴,这个恶毒的女巫终于现出原形。无论是良心上还是荣誉上,我很难去杀死这个女人。来照顾一下这位小姐。”他指的是姬尔。
“我还好,谢谢。”她说。
“小姐,”王子对她鞠了一躬,“你很勇敢,我想您一定出身高贵。来吧,朋友们,这里有酒,我们先干一杯。以后的事情以后再说。”
“好主意,殿下。”尤斯塔斯说。



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